Kampala. When the half-time score read 1-0 in favour of visitors Nkana, it should have been the biggest underscore that KCCA had got enroute to the Caf Champions League second round exit on Saturday.

Coach George Nsimbe’s side will entirely have themselves to blame for the 2-1 defeat having posed several questions to Nkana’s defence that went unanswered inside the opening 25 minutes.

Striker Tony Odur’s header from inside eight yards and Richard Malinga’s free kick all went over the bar. And winger Michael Birungi will have no excuse for missing after dazzling past four opponents into the area only for Nkana custodian Charles Mweemba to save.

More so, KCCA’s uncoordinated passing offered Claude Bwalya a chance to put the men in white in the lead before recess.

“We have ourselves to blame for the defeat,” Odur, who had scored in all previous three games of the campaign, said. “We did everything we could.” A vividly distressed Nsimbe could not say much. “All I can say is that they (Nkana) played better than us,” he said once his team failed to captivate of 2-all first leg stalemate nine days ago.

After Nsimbe’s thorough talk, KCCA quickly responded with a stellar Brian Majwega free-kick in the 50th minute but Nkana ably responded through Christopher Munthali’s tap-in into an empty net nine minutes later. “We took the notes in Kitwe and did our homework well against KCCA here in Kampala,” Munthali said.

“In Kitwe, we gave KCCA too much respect and they could have even won at sudden death,” Nkana captain Sydney Kalume said. “In comparison, their home performance here was below par.”

According to his teammates, Kalume was even excited and motivated when they got onto the pitch and the biggest part of the stands was empty. “He told us that we were playing on a ‘neutral ground’ and that we were not going to be intimidated by the few fans,” a Nkana player said.

The fact remains KCCA are yet to win a continental fixture at Namboole in four games since 1998.